Memory devices are typically provided as internal, semiconductor, integrated circuits in computing systems or other electronic devices. There are many different types of memory including volatile and non-volatile memory. Volatile memory can require power to maintain its data (e.g., user data, error data, etc.) and includes random-access memory (RAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), and hybrid memory cube (HMC), among others. Non-volatile memory can provide persistent data by retaining stored data when not powered and can include non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM), NAND flash memory, NOR flash memory, read only memory (ROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM), Erasable Programmable ROM (EPROM), and resistance variable memory such as phase change random access memory (PCRAM), 3D Phase Change Material and Switch (PCMS), resistive random access memory (RRAM), and magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), such as spin torque transfer random access memory (STT RAM), among others.
Memory devices can be combined together to form a storage volume of a memory system such as a solid state drive (SSD). A solid state drive can include non-volatile memory (e.g., 3D PCMS, NAND flash memory and/or NOR flash memory), and/or can include volatile memory (e.g., DRAM and/or SRAM), among various other types of non-volatile and volatile memory.
An SSD can be used to replace hard disk drives as the main storage volume for a computer, as the solid state drive can have advantages over hard drives in terms of performance, size, weight, ruggedness, operating temperature range, and power consumption. For example, SSDs can have superior performance when compared to magnetic disk drives due to their lack of moving parts, which may avoid seek time, latency, and other electro-mechanical delays associated with magnetic disk drives. SSD manufacturers can use non-volatile 3D PCMS memory to create SSDs that may not use an internal battery supply, thus allowing the drive to be more versatile and compact.